Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde has vowed to prosecute three suspects responsible for the January 16 deadly explosion in the Bodija area of Ibadan.
Governor Makinde declared his commitment to ensuring accountability for the tragedy while receiving the official report of the incident by the Medical, Security and Engineering Teams on Wednesday, February 6.
The three suspects were identified through an analysis of the Closed Circuit Television (CCT) footage from one of the affected houses, according to the Governor’s Special Adviser on Security, Fatai Owoseni.
Owoseni also revealed that the “majority” of the suspects were from Mali, promising that the state government would check their immigration status and “ensure that they face the full wrath of the law.”
Speaking on the findings of the incident, he noted that the losses reported: “include fatality, injuries of various degrees, damages ranging from total collapse and submerging of houses, houses that suffered collateral damage and the ones that suffered minimal damages.”
“As of 6 p.m. on Friday, 3rd of February, which was the 18th day of the incident, a total of 335 affected persons registered at the emergency situation centre including 16 companies or business operators, churches, mosques, three schools and the UCH also approached the centre to report on their losses,” he stated.
He also urged the residents of the state to comply with the Executive Order signed by the governor which placed obligations on people who deal with explosives to report to the government at No 2, Oba Akenzua Crescent, Onireke, Ibadan, or via email: declarenow@oyostate.gov.ng.
The chairman of Nigeria Institute of Structural Engineers, Mbim Okutinyang, also the lead coordinator of the team that carried out structural integrity on the affected houses, said his team covered 282 houses and that only four of the houses would have to be demolished due to the degrees of the damage. However, he said the seismic report was underway.
Prof. Temitope Alonge, Head of the Emergency Operation Centre, said 80 victims in total were managed across various hospitals following the incident but “only five patients are on admission” at the time of the press conference.
He explained that four of the patients treated at the University College Hospital (UCH) were at various recovery levels, while one patient was at the Redeemers Hospital for spinal cord treatment.
Alonge added that some of the affected victims who experienced medical disorders such as respiratory illness had been treated, while those with symptoms suggestive of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder were being attended to by clinical psychologists from UCH, led by Funmi Olowa.
Giving an update on the tests for radioactivity, Alonge said the site of the incident has been cleared in terms of radioactivity.
“The EOC invited the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NNRA) to conduct another screening on Sunday, 4th February and the good news is that there were no radiations outside of normal,” he stated.
